CSIRO’s lightweight concrete panel technology with superior engineering and environmental performance is seeing our partners enter the global construction industry.
At half the weight of concrete panels of the same strength, HySSIL technology can greatly reduce building weight and foundation sizes.
It has a unique cellular structure which provides up to five times the thermal insulation of conventional concrete. The panels are impact and fire resistant, and can be nailed and painted directly without rendering.
A pilot plant capable of producing 2 000 cubic metres of HySSIL per year has just been built and is already turning out wall panels of up to three by three metres in size.
The technology is undergoing extensive evaluation for compliance with Building Code of Australia requirements.
What CSIRO did
The HySSIL technology was developed by Dr Swee Liang Mak and his team at CSIRO.
‘Researchers worldwide have always chased this holy grail of trying to make concrete lighter and yet not lose any strength,’ says Dr Mak.
‘Our inspiration came from the structure of bone where you have a very strong outer shell and a fairly porous interior. We honed in on the idea of wrapping a very strong material around a bubble in order to get a very strong material that is light.
Construction time and cost can also be significantly cut because of easier transporting and lifting of the pre-fabricated HySSIL panels.
The pilot plant has been built in Sunshine, Victoria.
Outcomes
CSIRO’s HySSIL technology is helping our partners enter the global construction global construction industry and target the wall market, whose total value is estimated at US$12.5 billion a year.
Construction time and cost can be cut significantly because of easier lifting and transportation of the lightweight, prefabricated HySSIL panels.
‘HySSIL wall panels are also made using an energy-efficient process that does not require expensive and energy-intensive curing equipment,’ says Dr Mak.
‘Coupled with the added benefits of recyclability and improved thermal efficiencies, this technology can potentially reduce greenhouse impacts.’
‘The technology actually provides a very flexible manufacturing technique,’ he said, adding that the technology is amenable to a whole range of products.
Partners
Following a successful capital raising in June 2006, HySSIL Pty Ltd, established with industry collaborator ThinC, is set to complete the commercialisation stage.
The first step was building the pilot plant in a joint-venture with Westkon, one of Australia’s premier pre-cast concrete manufacturers.
‘We’re focusing initially on the wall market because we believe this is the largest part of the building structure that this material is actually applicable to,’ says Mr Colin Knowles, a Director of HySSIL Pty Ltd.
‘Our model for commercialising the product is to go to various parts of the world and sub-licence a manufacturer that is familiar with the construction industry in each region. We are currently looking at south-east Asia, Australia, America, China and the middle east.’
HySSIL Pty Ltd recently received a large Commercial Ready grant from AusIndustry to continue development of a sustainable housing systems technology.
Read more about CSIRO’s work in this area in the Building and construction overview.
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